Bay City vs. Canal Fulton Mules

Walnut Grove #2, World's Tournament

Greenfield Village, Dearborn, MI

August 11, 2012

Bay City 23, Canal Fulton Mules 5

The Bay City gents escaped the floods of their hometown environs, and rode into Greenfield Village with the hope of taking home the title of World's Tournament Champions for 2012.  The first step towards attaining that moniker would see them battle a familiar group, the Canal Fulton Mules from Ohio.  The Mules are a club who are fortunate enough to be led by a legend in historic base ball, Ed Shuman who is the finest of gentlemen, and the best of captains in the sport, and clubs always find it a pleasure to remake his acquaintence.

The coin toss was won by Bay City, who decided to take the field in the contest, and the Mules took to striking straight off sending six strikers to the mark, and plating one ace in their first innings.  The Bay Citys would do them better however, sending nine strikers to the dish, and plating five aces.  The Independent were so dutiful in their striking that they saw four of their company reach extra bases, with each making their second.  The fine fighting foursome included Jason "Buttons" McInerney, Jeff "Silverback" Rahl, Brian "Butterfly" Beceril, and Britt "The Mad Scientist" Vanchura.  After one inning of play Bay City held a lead they would not relinquish at 5 to 1.

In the second innings the Independents would skunk the Mules.  Despite frequent interruptions by the Iron Horse making it's way across the tracks in left field, and the protestations by the Mules against said modern innovation, the Bay Citys found time to plate two more aces in their second with another two base making apple masher thrown in by Alan "Kid" Garcia. The lead now stood at Bay City 7 and Mules 1.

The Mules would double their number of tallies in the third thanks to the striking of "Tall" Jim Green, who sent a howitzer deep into the garden to make his third in the third.  He would then tally on another long blast into the out field that saw the next striker make his second.  He would see his hand killed to end the innings however on a neat run down between the bases of third and home.

At the completion of the Fulton uprising in the third innings Bay City decided to kick up their heels and take to walloping with the willow themselves, and sent eight strikers to the line, and tallying four times.  The greatest mash of the innings came from the bat of Jimmy "2 Quarts" Arnold who was able to take his second on his latest effort.  The tally now stood at Bay City 11 and the Mules 2.

The Independents would lay down the whitewash for the next two innings against the Mules, but continued their own parade around the pillows plating eight runs in the fourth innings, and added half as many in the fifth.  Extra bases in the innings were reached by Jeff "Silverback" Rahl, who made his second, and Brian "Butterfly" Beceril who made his second in the fourth and his third in the fifth.

In the sixth innings the Canal Fulton gents would double their total tallying twice, and after skunking the Bay Citys in their sixth, the Mules would pull another ace out of their sleeve to bring a close to their ledger and the time constrained contest at Bay City 23, and the Canal Fulton Mules 5.

It was a good first step for Bay City in their journey, but it was made an even better time because of the company they kept, as the Mules were perfect gentlemen while playing a fine game of base ball.  It was no wonder that this excellent club would eventually take home the trophy presented for the best sportsmanship.  Huzzah to the Mules! Huzzah for Bay City!

Bay City visits Saginaw

Ojibway Island, Saginaw, MI

August 2, 2012

Bay City 12, Saginaw 11

The Independents of Bay City took to the pitch as the State of Michigan Champion for the third time this season, and hoped to defend their title in a setting that has yielded little success for them, Ojibway Island.  The Island is home to one of the most decorated historic base ball club's in the country, the Saginaw Old Golds, and despite recent success against the Golds the Bay Citys have seen little of it when visiting Ojibway.  So with the Cup on the line, and a sizable crowd in attendance, the Independents would need to be at their best to retain their title, and their unblemished record.

The coin toss to determine the order of striking was presided over by the umpire of the day, Tom "Golden Rule" Mudd.  Having lost the toss, the Bay Citys would begin the match by striking first and often, sending 11 strikers to the mark, making 8 safeties, and plating 7 aces.  The largest clout would come from the bat of the Independents pitcher, Brain "The Butterfly" Beceril, who would make his second while driving home one run.

In their first the Saginaws would come out swinging as well, with two extra base hits in row from the bats of Jon "Boozehound" Smith, and captain Adam "Squints" McCauley.  Each would tally in the innings, but the scoring would stop there after the Independents' defense shored itself up.

The defense and pitching of both clubs would be the story as no scoring took place again until the Saginaw's fourth innings, when the Old Golds plated 2 more aces behind the striking of Toby "Scoops" Larkin, and Dennis Koneszciewski.  The Bay Citys were fortunate to escape the innings without more aces in the Old Golds ledger when a long fly out was bottled by Tom "Cat" LeRoux to kill the Saginaws third hand when the bases were loaded.

Both clubs would be skunked in the fifth innings, and the Bay Citys would finally scratch out an ace in the sixth when Alan "Kid" Garcia drove a howitzer deep into the garden and made his second with ease.  He would then tally when his brother Justin "Doc" Garcia put a sky ball down the right field line that had him make his first.  After the Independents skunked the Old Golds for the fourth and final time in the match the game now stood at Bay City 8 and Saginaw 4 after six innings each.

In the seventh innings the Bay Citys would add another tally to their total when Jeff "Silverback" Rahl reached the weeping willow in center field with a sky ball that allowed him to make his second, and he would tally after a liner was sent into the garden by Tom "Cat" LeRoux, who then made his first.  Some fine plays by the Saginaw defense would kill the innings and put a hold on the Bay Citys scoring in the seventh.  The Saginaws however,  had only just begun to warm up and tallied two more times in the seventh, and now put the match at Bay City 9 and Saginaw 6.

The eighth innings would hold dramatics and dash for both clubs when Matt "Barrell Roller" Barnard of Bay City opened the striking with a safety placed into left field, which was followed by a neat fair foul by Britt "The Mad Scientist" Vanchura.  The next striker would lose his hand to a neat catch by the Saginaw center fields man "Boozehound" Smith, but the striking began anew when Sean "Tanner" LeRoux placed a daisy cutter just past the reach of the short stop loading the bases for the Independents.  It took 4 strikers to load them for Bay City, but only one to empty them when Alan "Kid" Garcia blasted his second howitzer into the garden and made his second yet again, while Tanner LeRoux chased the other strikers around the bases in a race for home.  The scoring would end there, but it was Garcia's blast that helped to lengthen the lead for Bay City at 12 to 6.

The Saginaws however would do Bay City one run better in their eighth sending 6 strikers to the line, and tallying four times with Mr. Konesciewski and Mr. Smith making their second and third respectively on prodigious clouts and fleet feet.  After 8 innings the match now stood Bay City 12, and Saginaw 10.

The Bay Citys would be blanked in the ninth for the fifth time in the contest setting up an exciting ending to the match.  The Saginaws would see their first two hands in the contest killed on a  fly ball to left field, and a throw from third to first respectively.  So, with two hands down the Saginaws started an unexpected rally from the bottom of their order putting three strikers in a row safely on the pillows and loading the bases with Golds.  That brought club founder, Richard Curry to the plate with two hands down, the bases loaded, and the Saginaws down just two runs.  Curry handled the pressure brilliantly driving a daisy cutter off Tanner LeRoux, that plated Nick "Brute" Hammond, and had Curry safe at first.  Curry's heroics would bring the top of the Saginaw order to the plate with the bases loaded, but the next striker drove another daisy cutter that this time was handled by the Bay City third sacker, Justin "Doc" Garcia who deftly threw to second to kill the Golds final hand, and preserve the match, and the Cup for Bay City.

Bay City will now take their title as State Champion to Greenfield Village for the World's Tournament of Historic Base Ball to be held on August 11-12th, and perhaps these two Great Lakes Bay Champions will meet again there.

Bay City visits Mt. Clemens

Mt. Clemens, MI

July 28, 2012

Bay City 15, Mt. Clemens 7

The wooded trail leading to the Mt. Clemens field of choice included a shady respite for the Bay Citys as they unloaded from their weary journey to battle the Regulars for possession of the State Champions Cup.  It also could have been seen as a bit of a metaphor for the match itself, as the Independents seemingly had to battle in the dark for most of the match only to step out into the sunshine and grasp the contest fully near the end.

The match, and coin toss to determine the order of striking, was presided over by the honorable, Paul Hunkele, former member of the Grangers Base Ball Club of Rochester Hills, and founder of the modern-day, Regular Base Ball Club.  The Independents would lose the toss, and would take the field first and subsequently whitewash the Regulars nearly in order.  The Bay Citys would then tally two runs thanks to successive safeties from the sticks of Alan "Kid" Garcia, Justin "Doc" Garcia, and Jason "Buttons" McInerney.  More runs would surely have tallied had not Mr. McInerney called himself out on his honor, that he had not tagged properly on a fly catch to the long field.  Huzzah to "Buttons" for his trustworthy, gentlemanly manner that this game is supposed to represent.  At any rate after one innings of play the match was Bay City 2 and Mt. Clemens 0.

The Regulars would cut the lead in half in the second innings when their pitcher of renown, Ray Pachuta, made his first, and then proceeded to take both his second, and his third thanks to thievery.  He then tallied on a safety from the wrong-handed striking, Curly.  After tightening the match, the Mt. Clemens gents then tightened the noose by skunking the Bay Citys and after 2 innings of play the match was now Bay City 2, and Mt. Clemens 1.

In the third innings of play the Bay Citys would use a twin-killing on the bases to eliminate a potential skirmish by the Regulars and whitewash them for a second time in the match.  Likewise, the Independents again kicked up their heels and plated 2 aces of their own in the form of Jimmy "2 Quarts" Arnold, and Sean "Tanner" LeRoux.  The greatest strike of the innings came thanks to the willow whomping of Justin "Doc" Garcia who made his second on his clout, one of two such strikes on this day.  The match was now Bay City 4 and Mt. Clemens 1.

The fourth innings would see both clubs trade aces Mr. Cartwright for the Regulars, and Ron "Irish" O'Laughlin for the Bay Citys.  In the fifth though the Regulars would do some fine apple-mashing with the double d combination of Dublin, and Diego leading the innings off with a howitzer by Dublin who made his second, and a daisy-cutter by Diego that placed runners at first and third.  Diego then took his second by theft, and now the Independents looked to be doing some mountain climbing to get out of this troubling traffic on the bases.  The Bay City defense, then stepped to the fore and was able to coax a fly to the first sacker, Dean "Sawmill" Koch to kill the first hand, and then a fly to the short stop Sean "Tanner" LeRoux to kill the next with no runs tallying.  It looked as if the Independents might escape without a scratch, but the Regulars wouldn't go that quietly and plated both Dublin and Diego on successive infield safeties.

Feeling the match tightening up the Bay City's sent the top of their order to the stripe, and they matched the Regulars effort by plating Sean "Tanner" LeRoux and Justin "Doc" Garcia.  After 5 innings of play the match was now Bay City 7 and Mt. Clemens 4.

The Regulars would draw ever closer in the sixth innings when "Tea Cup" tallied his first ace of the day, after which the Mt. Clemens defense would whitewash the Bay Citys thanks to a twin killing on the bases.  Then the Regulars would tally again in the seventh innings to make the match 7 to 6, and again the fine pitching of Pachuta was able to skunk the Independents this time silencing the top of the order after the bottom two strikers had reached base.

The eighth inning was when the Bay Citys defense began to finally shine, as they stepped out of the darkness and into the light skunking the Regulars in order for the first time in the match.  Sensing their defense finally coming around the Independents then went to work with the wood sending 9 strikers to the line making 6 safeties, stealing 5 bases and tallying 5 aces.  Now the Independents had some room to breathe in the contest at Bay City 12, and the Regulars 6.

The ninth innings would be another opportunity for the Bay Citys to show some defensive skill when the lead striker for the Regulars, "Prince", sent a sky ball to the left field that seemed destined for a safety, only to have it bottled in style by the mercurial short stop of Bay City, Tanner LeRoux.  The next striker, Jeff "Cartwright" Tomshaw, made his first, took his second by theft, and then tallied on another safety by "Hobbit".  Another daisy-cutter by "Dublin" now had Regulars at first and second with one hand down, when the striker Mike "Diego" Pachuta, sent a screaming liner that looked to surely land down the left field line if not for the leaping, one-handed grab of Justin "Doc" Garcia that killed Diego's hand.  The quick thinking Garcia, then rifled across the diamond to kill the base straying "Dublin" at first.

With the competitive portion of the contest brought to a close the Bay Citys then tallied three more aces in their ninth when Kid Garcia, and Doc Garcia made their aces thanks to a howitzer sent into the right field by Jason "Buttons" McInerney that saw him make his second.  The mighty mic would then tally thanks to a safety from the stick of Jeremy "Schoolboy" Stedry.

With the Cup safely tucked away in the arms of the player of the match, Justin "Doc" Garcia, both clubs reclined to fine meal of fried chicken, and various delightful dishes cooked up by the fine ladies of Mt. Clemens.  Both clubs look forward to the re-making of acquaintances on the grounds of Greenfield Village when they both return to play in the World's Tournament of Historic Base Ball to be held on August 11th through the 12th.